SA’s Indigenous communities brace for border reopening

The general manager of South Australia’s Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands is concerned remote communities will be “left to fend for themselves” in the event of an outbreak in Adelaide.

The SA government intends to lift border restrictions on November 23, when 80 per cent of residents are expected to be fully vaccinated.

Modelling released this week suggested there would be a 30 per cent chance of an outbreak in the 300 days after the border reopened, provided all other COVID restrictions remained in place.

The APY Lands have been subject to strict lockdowns every time there has been an outbreak in SA to avoid COVID-19 spreading to its vulnerable, isolated Indigenous population.

“Our lockdowns are fairly intense, in that we close fuel [stations] to stop people moving, and the police also install roadblocks because [we don’t want] people travelling from one community and taking it to the next,” APY general manager Richard King said.

The government data suggests that over the modelled 300 days after the reopening of the border, an outbreak with the current level of restrictions, including masks, could take 13 lives and reach 24,000 cases.

“If we do get major outbreaks all at once in Adelaide and it overwhelms the health services, the services are really going to be focused on urban populations,” Mr King said.

“The more rural and remote populations will be left to fend for themselves.

In a statement, SA Health said it was working closely with Aboriginal health organisations and local health authorities to protect Indigenous people.

“We are focusing on providing the best possible care for all South Australians while also managing demand on hospitals, making sure they are best placed to care for those who are most affected by COVID-19,” it said.

“This is predicted to be five per cent of cases requiring hospitalised care.

Connectivity leads to misinformation

Almost 83 per cent of APY residents older than 50 have received two doses, along with 61 per cent younger than 50.

The vaccination rate is beginning to fall behind the state average and most residents have been given the face-to-face opportunity to receive the vaccine.

“APY, under my watch, put in a number of Telstra towers right across the Lands, which opened the APY people up to modern technology which they embraced, and just about everyone’s got a mobile phone and everyone uses it,” Mr King said.

“A lot of the misinformation that’s out there, [residents] haven’t really developed the skill to determine what’s real and what’s not, so they’re hearing all this misinformation and thinking, ‘Gee, there’s something going on here.'”

Mr King said all levels of government had been cooperative and communicative, but the challenge of managing an outbreak would be significant.

“Wilcannia showed us that Aboriginal populations are vulnerable, and that there is overcrowding in housing and when it does get in it’ll spread very quickly, so response times have to be very quick,” he said.

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